Vegetable-pulping machine



Sept. 11, 1928. 1,683,705

J. SCHMIDT I VEGETABLE PULPING MACHINE Filed May 27, 1926 J 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 11, 1928.

J. SCHMIDT VEGETABLE PULPING MACHINE Filed May 27, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 11, 1928.

J. SCHMIDT VEGETABLE PUI PING MACHINE Filed May 27, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Sept. 11, 1928. 1,683,705

J. SCHMIDT VEGETABLE PULPING MACHINE Filed May 27, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 WW Whim- Sept. 11, 1928.

J. SCHMIDT VEGETABLE PULPING MACHINE Filed May 27, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet" 5 fication and claims.

Patented Sept. 11, 192 8.

UNITED STATES JOHN SCHMIDT, OF HOOPESTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO SPIIAGUE-SELLS CORPORATION,

OF HOOPESTON, ILLINOIS.

I VEGETABLE-YULPING MACHINE.

Application filed May 27,

This invention relates to an improved machine for pulping and macerating vegetative materials for use in the packing of tomato pulp and juice and chili sauces and such like products.

In a general way the improvements embodied in this invention comprise an improved manner of feeding the raw materials to the machine; an improved manner of preliminary maceration; an improved manner of disposing and mounting the screens; an improved manner of controlling the discharge of the material from the screens an improved manner of separating the screened material into different grades and discharging the same through different channels; an improved discharge means for the rejected material; a new and desirable means for giving visual access to the interior of the machine while it is in operation; improved clamping means for holding the sectional screens in operative relation and position and some otherdetails of construction and operation which. will be fully pointed out in the speci- It is thereforan object of this invention to provide an improved means of feeding the raw material to the machine in such a manner that none of the juices or lighter parts of the material will be thrown out, and that the preliminary maceration will take place under the most ideal conditions of operation, for both the conservation of material as well as the final quality of product produced.

It is also an object of the invention to produce a device for effecting the preliminary maceration of the material being treated that will reduce the said material to a uniform pulpy mass so' that the subsequent operation may be carried out in the most effective and eflicient manner.

It is also an object of the invention to dispose and mount the separating screens in such a manner that a true circle is provided in which the rotor element that squeezes the material through the screens may move in the closest possible contact and still not cause undue and unnecessary wear of the screens or the moving element.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an improved means of discharging the rejected material in order to keep the parts of the mechanism adjacent the discharge end from contamination with the vegetable juices 1926. Serial No. 112,026.

It is also an object of the invention to pro-.

vide a new and desirable means of giving visnal access to the lnterior of the machine while 1t 1s operation in order to determine just how the material is running and whether it may be desirable to separate the uices and pulp passing through the screens in order to obtain portions of a better grade than would be obtained ifthe whole of the discharge was mixed as it finally passed from the machine.

It is also an object of the invention to pro-' vide means for holding and clamping the screen sections together whereby they may be removed from the machine in the quickest possible manner in case some foreign object gets into the machine and damages the screens that would necessitate their replacement. This is a desirable feature since if, the machine is stopped for only a short time for such necessary replacement the oncoming materialwould accumulate so rapidly that some disposition would have to be made of it thus causing added expense and handling and sometimes spoilage.

With such objects in view as well as other objects that were evolved during the development of the invention, I wish it understood that the several necessary elements and com binat-ions constituting the same may be varied in their proportions, placements, general arrangement and operative relation without departing from the nature of the invention, also that the described devices are simply embodiments of the invention which other struc* tures might employ without departing from the purview of the invention and I regard myself as entitled to such variations from the shown and described devices as fall with-- inthe scope and meaning of the claims hereto appended. f

Reference being now had to the. accompanying drawings a better and clearer under- Inn standing of'the invention will be had. The drawings supplied herewith are more or less diagrammatic in character; are not necessarily made to scale and do not necessarily represent the preferred or the best engineering practices in the construction of apparatus of this nature, the invention as illustrated is in a preferred form and clearly indicates how it may be applied in a concrete form or machine.

Figure l is a vertical side elevation of the machine.

Figure 2 is an end elevation looking from the left of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is an end elevation looking from the right of Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a plan of Fig. 1.

Figure 5 is a sectional elevation taken on approximately the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Figure 6 is a sectional elevation taken on approximately the line 66 of Fig. 1.

Figure 7 ,is a longitudinal sectional eleva- Lion taken on approximately the line 77 of Fig. 2.

Figure 8 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of Figure 5, showing the clamping means.

Letters of like character represent like parts in the several views.

The machine is mounted in and supported by a framework designated generally b the numeral 1. The general arrangement of the machine comprises a centrally disposed nonrotatable housing 2 secured to and forming a part of the general framework of the machine. The housin 2 has a cover member 3 which encloses the entire upper portion of the screen portion of the machine. Concentrically disposed within the housing and cover 2 and 3 is a sectional screen member designated by the numerals 4, 5 and 6, seen best in Fig. 5. The screen member is held against rotative movement by being mounted on and secured to the end heads of the housing 2, these head flanges being turned to hold the screen sections in a true circle. The center portions of the screen sections are stayed and stiffened by the encircling members 7. A main drive shaft 8 extends longitudinally through the machine. A rotor member preferably comprising three equally spaced beater arms is centrally disposed in the screen member and is designated by the numeral 9. The outer edges of the beater arms are adapted to ride in very close proximity to the inner surface of the circular screen member, and they are given a slight longitudinal pitch so they will have a tendency to move the pulp material toward the discharge end of the machine.

The feed end of the machine comprises a side feed hopper 10, leading into a macerating chamber 11, in which chamber is a propeller type of macerating device 12, mounted on the main drive shaft 8.' The purpose of this device is to cut up and mash the material fed into the machine and prepare it for the further operation of extracting the juices and fine pulp.

The head member of the frame 2 that separates the macerating chamber from the screened chamber is provided with a series of circular circumferentially arranged openings 13. through which the macerated material is forced out into the screen chamber.

Drive pulleys 14 are provided to impart motion to the operative elements of the apparatus.

Located underneath the screened portion of the machine is a receiving trough or chute 15 into which the juices and very fine pulp is gradually discharged as it is forced through the screens by the rubbing action of the beater arms of the rotor member. From this chute the separated material is directed to any desired part of the packing plant by suitable devices not shown.

A discharge gate 16 is provided at the discharge end of the apparatus for the removal of the rejected materials.

An auxiliary chute 17 is provided at the rear of the apparatus, and is given longitudinal adjustment so that it may cover varied portions of the screen and catch and separate any undesirable materials that accumulate at the discharge end of the machine and keep them from dropping into the chute 15 and mixing with the choice product passing therethrough.

The screen sections 4, 5 and G are secured in operative relation by means of the clamping members 18, see Fig. 5, and the hinge 19.

A very important and desirable feature of this machine resides in the gates 20 and 21, pivotally disposed on the sides of the housing, see Fig. 5. The purpose of these gates is to give visual access to the inside of the machine during operation to see how the material is running and to determine whether adjustment of the auxiliary chute 17 is necessary or desirable to separate any undesir= able materials.

The chute 17 is given longitudinal adjustment by sliding it along the ways 22. It may be made of any length and may be given any desired extent of-adjustment. I have shown only a short adjustment indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 7. For certain materials the chute could be fixed in position and not given any adjustment if such a construction were desirable.

In machines of this character it is sometimes rather diflicult to keep the whirling juices and pulp from running along the center shaft and getting into the end bearing. To obviate this difliculty I provide a deflecting collar 23, Fig. 7 on the shaft at the discharge end of the screen which has rubbing contact with a face of the hub of the end frame member. This most etfectually prevent the juices from getting through this bearing and cutting out the lubricant.

Operation.

The operation of a machine embodying my invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings would be substantially as follows:

. l-Ve will consider that tomatoes are the vegetable, or fruit as some insist it is, being operated upon.

Tomatoes are supplied to the cannery in quite large quantities and in varying conditions of ripeness and sometimes in varying conditions of more or less slight decay. The

juice and fine pulp of the tomato is used for various purposes in thecanning art, and it 1s desired 1n various degrees of fineness and fluidity for the different purposes, and in the production of the various desired products it is very desirable that visual inspection may be had during operation so the canner may know exactly how the material is running and control the product accordingly.

Tomatoes that have been properly pretreated are fed into the hopper of the machine and pass directly into the operative zone of the propeller macerating device, here they are mashed and cut up into a mass of pulp and juices and due to the shape of the blades of the macerating member this pulp material is forced through the openings in the frame head into the screen chamber where it is picked up by the fast moving beater arms of the rotor in this chamber and is rubbed and squeezed against the inner surface of the screen member with the result that the juices and fine pulp are forced through the screen and gradually drop into the large receiving chute. A peculiarity of this material under sucha treatment causes somewhat of a distinct separation of the different grades of material comprising the general mass. The

fully ripe portions seem to passthrough the screen at about a certain zone, the less ripe portions of the mass seem to pass through the screen at a different zone, and the over ripe and undesirable portions seem to accumulate near the discharge end of the screen. This natural condition enables the cannery through the. medium of this invention to effect more or less of a separation of these dilfering grades of product and to segregate them into different channels of a discharge for use according to their value. The side swinging doors may be opened at any time during operation and the discharge of the screen examined as to its suitability for the various purposes desired in the canning art and since the most undesirable portions of the mass under treatment seem to accumulate at or near the discharge end of the screen the auxiliary chute may be adjusted to catch all, or nearly all of the undesirable material pass: ing through the screen at this place. This permits oftheseparation of the finer grade of pulp or juice passing through the other portions of the screen, from this undesirable portion resulting in a generally higher grade of final produc In the drawings I have shown only one of the auxiliary adjustable chutes, in ordinary practice only one is needed. In some canneries, however where it is desirable to segregate the pulp for chili sauce, one two or more of the adjustable chutes might be required. Considering all of the mass inside of the screen chamber there will be a certain zone along the screen where the product coming through is ideal for chili sauce, while the other zones will discharge material that is either too thin due to excess juice or the pulp is too fine. With suitably disposed auxiliary chutes along the under side of the screen the undesirable portions of' the screened material may be easily separated from that best adapted for the purpose and thereby the highest grade of product produced.

Machines of thistype and nature are usually operated at quite high speeds and unless the operative elements are properly proportioned and balanced in relation to each other very detrimental vibration is set up with resulting rapid wear and deterioration.

In the mounting and adjustment of the screen member and the rotor elements of the machine particular attention has been given to this feature. The screen element and the rotor inside are truly concentrically disposed so that the contact between the screen and beater arms is uniform for the entire revolution, and the manner of mounting the screen sections tends to eliminate undue vibration. The propeller macerating member and the rotor in the screen chamber are so timed and adjusted that each blade of the propeller supplies material for its companion blade of the screen rotor. The balancing of these parts in this manner conduces to smooth and vibrationless operation. Feeding the material by means of the side chute or hopper has a very distinct advantage in placing the material at the bottom of the macerating chamber instead of pouring it down from the top onto the fast moving blades to be thrown around and wasted.

The screen sections being supported and locked into operative position by means of the clamps as shown permits of almost instant removal in case of accident to the screens from any hard foreign substance get-- ting in with the vegetable material.

In this description I hadreferred to the rotor in the screen chamber as moving in contact with the inner surface of the screen. This mayor may not be the case, depending somewhat on the condition of the machine and the material beinghandled. A new machine with snug bearings may have a much closer adjustment than a mac ine that has Mrs seen some operation, and different materials may require more or less clearance between the outer edges of the beater arms or blades and the screen surface.

The disposition and arrangement of the screen sections as shown has an important advantage. By hinging the two side screen sections at the top and swinging them outward to inspect the inside of the screen, and thus leaving the bottom section immovable prevents any possibility of undesired pulp dropping from the screens down into the pans underneath and getting into the screened and separated material. In opening the screen the top cover of the housing is removed; the screen clamps loosened when the sections may be swung outward as desired.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus for treating vegetable products comprising a unitary device having a receiving chamber and a screening chamber, av feed hopper having tangential connection with said receiving chamber, a preliminary treating means in said receiving chamher, a final treating means in said screening chamber, means for giving synchronized movement to said initial and final treating means to maintain an equalized balance between said parts and the material being handled with means for receiving the treated material in isolated groups.

2. An apparatus for treating vegetable products comprising a unitary device having. a receiving chamber and a screenlng chamber, a perforated division wall between said chambers, a feed hopper having tangential connection w1th said reeeivlng chamber, a

preliminary treating means in said receiving chamber and a final treating means in said screening chamber with means under said screening chamber for receiving the treated material in isolated groups.

3. An apparatus for treating vegetable products comprising a device having a series of coacting chambers one of which is a receiving chamber and the other a final treating chamber, obstructive means between said chambers rotative treating means in said chambers, a screen member forming one of the walls of one of said chambers, a feed hopper having tangential connection with one of said chambers, treating means in both of said chambers and means under said screen member for receiving the treated material in isolated groups.

4. An apparatus for pulping vegetable materials comprising a receivin chamber and a pulping chamber, a feed opper having tangential connection with said feed chamber, a multi-bladed member in said feed chamber, a multi-bladed member in said pulping chamber, a perforated division wall between said chambers, a screen member forming a part of said pulping chamber,

means or impartin synchronized movement to said multi-blade members to maintain an equalized balance between said members and the material be treated and means under said screen member for receiving the treated material in isolated groups.

5. An apparatus for pulping vegetable materials comprising a plurality of chambers in operative relation, a feed hopper having tangential connection with one of said chambers, beater blades in said chamber for breaking up material entered therein, beater blades in another of said chambers for giving further treatment to material enterin therein, means for holding and moving sai beater blades in synchronized relation to maintain an equalized balance between said blades and materials handled thereby, and means for receiving materials after treatment in isolated oups.

6. A machine r treating vegetable materials comprising treating means including an enclosed chamber, a circular screen member in said chamber consisting of a plurality of sections, one of which is fixed against movement, members for receiving treated material located under said fixed screen member, said receiving members having adjustment means relative to each other.

7. A machine for treating vegetable materials comprising treating means including an enclosed chamber, a circular screen member in said chamber and a preliminary treating chamber adj aeent said enclosed chamber, said screen member being made up of movable and fixed sections, treated material receiving means located below said screen mem' her, said receiving means being mounted for relative movement whereby the discharged material may be delivered in graduated isolated groups.

8. A machine for treating vegetable materials comprising a casing made up of a removable top member, pivotally mounted side members, a frame work carrying said side member's, fixed and movable receiving members for receiving treated material, fixed and 'movable members within said casing for treating material, and adjacent means for delivering material to said treating means.

9. A machine for treating vegetable materials comprising a casing made up of a removable member, pivotally mounted members and a frame work for carrying said members, fixed and movable members within said casing for treating materials, fixed and movable members undersaid treating means for receiving treated material and segregating the same in graduated isolated groups, with means for delivering material to said machine.

10. A machine for treating veget'able materials comprising a casing made up of a plurality of parts and a frame work on which said parts are assembled, said pluralityof parts including a removable section and one or two swinging sections, fixed and movable members within said casing for treating materials, fixed and movable members under said casing for receiving treated materials and segregating the same in graduated isofinal treatment to the material, means under said screen member for receiving the treated material including means for segregating the said material into graduated isolated groups.

12. A beater blade mounting for a vegetable treating machine comprising a central shaft member, a spider on said shaft for carrying beater blades. a conical bearing for one end of said shaft. an embracing flange for said cone to cover the bearing surface forming and holding beater blades in a reel member, a conical bearing for one end of said assembly, an embracing flange covering said cone bearing to prevent access of liquid or other material to the said cone bearin 14. A feed hopper and preliminary treat-- ing means for vegetable treating machines comprising a casing, a rotary member within said casing, a tangential opening in said casing from said feed hopper whereby material' passing from said hopper into said casing is admitted adjacent the bottom of the casing to prevent ejection of entering ma terial through centrifugal force.

15. A machine for treating vegetable ma terials comprising treating means including a screened chamber, a screen member in said chamber consisting of a. plurality ofsections pivoted and clamped together to form a circular screen, two of said sections being movable and the other of said sections being fixed and located at the bottom of said chamber, receiving members located under said fixed screen sections so that material dropping from said movable screen section when opened for inspection will not drop into said receiving members.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JOHN SCHMIDT. 

